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As a second semester freshman, the idea of graduating from Conn and entering the “real world” seems about as far away as the invention of Pajama Jeans (just kidding; we’re already there). Then again, I felt the same way about graduating high school when I was a freshman back in the 2006 – 2007 school year and here I am living away from home and trying to remember where my first semester of college went. So maybe my perception of time is a little screwy.
At any rate, graduate school is the furthest thing from my mind and the most pressing question I’m facing is how to get my ten-page analysis of Wuthering Heights to print in the library since my printer crapped out. Also, I’ve been thinking a lot about when Harris will be serving tacos again. If you were to ask me what I want to be doing with my life in three and a half years, I would probably reply with a vague answer like “I want to be a writer? For a publication? Maybe?” I honestly have no idea about the specifics.
But if the wonderful program that is Career Enhancing Life Skills, or simply CELS, has taught me anything, it’s that it’s never too early to start planning for the future. Before we know it, we’ll all be scrambling to apply for fellowships, graduate school programs or careers in our chosen fields and we’ll all be walking around in jeans made of cotton and spandex and business suits made of flannel (but don’t worry, they’ll look real professional for those interviews we’ll have).
Now that I had a plan in mind, I had to ask, “How does a Conn student prepare for graduate school?” The answer: it depends. First off, students need to ask themselves if grad school is the right choice for them. Some students may want to jump right into a career and to hell with a graduate degree.
One such student, Zach Balomenos ’14, said, “There’s no way in hell I will be going to grad school after Conn. I’m going to be so burned out after this. But I suspect my parents would say otherwise.”
So if you choose the other path — to continue your education post-Conn, there are many options from which to choose: MFA programs for those artistically-inclined among us, master’s programs for those interested in the sciences, law school, business school and med school. There’s a variety of choices depending upon what one wants to study.
Carly Allard ’09 was a human development major at Conn who recently completed the process of applying to pre-health graduate programs. She works in the OVCS office at Conn and waited two years to apply to grad school.
“Some of the better schools look for two years of work experience, and now that I’m back at Conn, it’s the perfect time to apply because I have many resources available to me, like CELS advisors and old professors,” Allard said.
Allard recommends applying to schools where you would consider actually living and that have the degree you are looking for. She knew she wanted to go to graduate school, but not immediately after Conn. “If I don’t go now, I’ll never go,” she said, adding, “I’m glad for the work experience.”
“Some students feel that taking time off can be a good thing to develop some more maturity, but if you want to move right on to grad school [after Conn], law schools don’t hold it against you,” said Jack Tinker, the pre-law and pre-MBA advisor at Conn. Unlike most business schools, which require two years of work experience, law schools do not require any work experience and will take students fresh out of undergrad schools.
The next step after deciding that you want to apply to graduate programs is picking where to apply. According to Deborah Dreher, graduate school advisor for Connecticut College, “Students shouldn’t pick a school; they should pick a program.” Some great schools may not have the best programs for one’s desired field.
Dreher’s job as a grad school advisor is not to advise students in program selection. That task is up to the faculty advisors who have more specific expertise in their fields. Instead, Dreher assists in the actual application process, once a student knows where he or she is applying.
Some essays are more technical, some are more personal, but as Dreher said, “The essay is critical.” She edits the essays for mechanical issues, while she said the faculty should be looking at them for content. She also added, “Lots of people should be looking at the essays.” She emphasizes asking many people to take a look at one’s work; the more eyes that peruse the essay the better because different people will pick out different things to improve.
In addition to the essay, it is critical to have the right GPA, the right Graduate Record Exams scores (GREs), good letters of recommendation and to make sure that one is a good match for the program s/he is applying for.
In addition to those advantages, faculty mentoring, independent research and close, amiable faculty/student relationships are all helpful to the process. “Students can receive really good advice when they open up to faculty about their dreams and aspirations,” said Dreher.
A big component of post-Conn success is in the hands of the students. Advice, fellowships and programs aren’t going to jump out of the woodwork at anyone; students must be proactive and seek out the help of their professors and advisors.
CELS counselors are also a good resource for students. The counselors become involved and help students choose paths that would interest them in the future; they point students in the right direction in their chosen path and students can even receive advice from people in their desired field.
Dreher works with students on the applications for grad school or fellowships, which are usually due by February of senior year. “The fall is a very stressful time for seniors because they have fellowship applications and grad school applications,” she said. She likes to have students work on their grad school applications over the summer between junior and senior year; students can communicate with her via Skype, e-mail and telephone.
Advising services that are offered to seniors are also offered to all alumni and according to Dreher, most advising is to recent alums. She will also help students who are considering grad programs but who may have no intention of actually making grad school definite. They work on mock applications, and if the student decides to actually apply, they will just have to tweak their work when the time comes to fill out the applications.
So to go to grad school or to not go to grad school: the decision is yours and yours alone. As for me, I still have no idea what I’m doing with my life, but I hear Harris is serving tacos tomorrow night. One problem down, one to go. •
